- [Voiceover] When we speak,…we have tone and facial expressions.…When we write, we have words on the page,…and the punctuation marks.…The exclamation point is used, of course,…to indicate a surprise element,…and the question mark means a question's being asked.…Those are easy.…But what about the pesky comma?…The comma is the most used,…and the most abused punctuation mark.…I'm convinced that sometimes the only reason…a comma is inserted is that "It looked like a good place,"…or "I breathed," or "I haven't used one for awhile."…However, that comma can completely change…the meaning of your message.…

Look at this sentence, does it need a comma?…Your correct answer should have been, "It depends."…You can't know until you know the writer's intent.…The sentence without the commas predicts…the Blue team will win.…Let's add commas.…Now the Red team is predicted to win,…complete opposite meaning.…

Not using a comma correctly can also result in…sentence fragments and in run-on sentences.…Here are a couple of examples.…That first group of words is a sentence fragment.…

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Author

Released

2/4/2014

Discover the secrets to effective business writing and crafting messages that others want to read and act on. Judy Steiner-Williams, senior lecturer at Kelley School of Business, introduces you to the 10 Cs of strong business communication and provides you with before-and-after writing samples that give you the opportunity to apply each principle and sharpen your communication skills. Judy also points out common grammar and writing mistakes and shares special considerations for formats like emails and reports.

Lynda.com is a PMI Registered Education Provider. This course qualifies for professional development units (PDUs). To view the activity and PDU details for this course, click here.The PMI Registered Education Provider logo is a registered mark of the Project Management Institute, Inc.